Prosecutor shoots himself at press conference

Mikołaj Przybył - PAP/Marek Zakrzewski

The prosecutor, Mikołaj Przybył, who is severely injured but still alive, was giving the conference for journalists on issues related to the April 2010 Smolensk air disaster.

Doctors have described the man's condition as "stable" after he was rushed to hospital.

“The prosecutor is alive and we are providing medical assistance,” a statement by the Cegielski hospital in Poznan.

The hospital added that the man is conscious despite shooting himself in the head.

During the press conference, the lawyer had asked journalists to leave the room for five minurtes so he could “ventilate it”.

The lawyer announced a five-minute break in the conference, and shortly afterwards a shot was heard.

At present it is unclear whether Colonel Przybyl survived. According to an unofficial report by Radio Merkury, the colonel showed signs of life.

Przybyl had been speaking out against what he described as “scandalous” charges against the Military Prosecutor's Office in Poznan, which stands accused of attempting to procure private information from mobile phone operators.

This afternoon, Poland's Attorney General Andrzej Seremet was due to announce his decision regarding the alleged malpractice of members of the Poznan office.

Members of the Military Prosecutor's Office in Poznan allegedly called on mobile phone operators to divulge text messages from the phones of journalists.

Colonel Przybyl claimed this morning that leaks had reached the press about details of the investigation into the Smolensk air disaster, causing delays in the Polish-Russian cooperation in the matter.

Some 96 people perished during the 10 April flight of President Lech Kaczynski's delegation to Smolensk for the 70th anniversary of the WWII Katyn massacre.

The mobile telephone operators did not release the material requested by the Military Prosecutor's Office, as this can only be done legally via a court order. (nh/pg)